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The revenge of the consumer! How brand moral violations lead to consumer anti-brand activism

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Abstract

Consumer anti-brand activism is explained through a specific theoretical model, tested in two studies with adult consumers. The presence of two mechanisms that interact with each other to instigate consumer anti-brand activism is demonstrated. Brands and their parent company moral misconducts, once learned and evaluated by consumers, induce hateful feelings that, in their turns, motivate consumers to adopt anti-brand behaviors. Second, the intensity of these feelings on anti-brand actions is hypothesized to be governed by the level of felt consumer empathy. The results provide scholars, managers and activists with means of improving their understanding and handling of anti-brand actions.

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Notes

  1. Anti-brand activism can oppose specific brands, but could also oppose corporate brands. This article focuses on the latter.

  2. In the case of aggression or violence, previous research showed that both anger and fear may be important. Anger, considered a dangerous emotion (Averill, 1983; Berkowitz, 1990; Halperin and Gross, 2010), motivates violent responses to stop ongoing transgressions by others and preventing additional ones. Also fear can be a dangerous emotion because it reflects vulnerability and can lead to aggressive behaviors, especially when escape from the fearful stimulus is not possible or desirable (Lorenz, 2002).

  3. The coding was done by two independent coders. Results were compared (Rust and Cooil, 1994) and scrutinized when there were disagreements (the proportional reduction in loss was 0.91). Disagreements were resolved between the two coders after a discussion of each specific case. Concerning the removed cases, reasons for Nestlé that differed from moral ones mainly referred to product dissatisfaction, while moral reasons for Dolce and Gabbana mainly considered the brand offensive portrayal of women in advertising.

  4. An exploratory factor analysis confirmed the existence of 5 factors: Agreeableness (M=3.84; SD=1.60; inter-item correlation=0.67), extraversion (M=4.94; SD=1.33; inter-item correlation =0.73), consciousness (M=4.72; SD=1.69; inter-item correlation =0.72), neuroticism (M=3.97; SD=1.67; inter-item correlation =0.75), openness (M=4.59; SD=1.63; inter-item correlation =0.70). The t-test statistics showed no significant differences among the two groups (agreeableness: t(136)=−0.42, P =0.68; extraversion: t(136)=−0.59, P=0.56; consciousness: t(136) =0.32, P =0.75; neuroticism: t(136)=−0.60, P =0.55; openness: t(136)=−1.48, P =0.14).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Economics, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, viale Berengario 51, Modena, 41121, Italy

    Simona Romani, Silvia Grappi, Lia Zarantonello & Richard P Bagozzi

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  1. Simona Romani
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  2. Silvia Grappi
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  3. Lia Zarantonello
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  4. Richard P Bagozzi
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Correspondence to Silvia Grappi.

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Romani, S., Grappi, S., Zarantonello, L. et al. The revenge of the consumer! How brand moral violations lead to consumer anti-brand activism. J Brand Manag 22, 658–672 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1057/bm.2015.38

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/bm.2015.38

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